Ryder's claim to fame

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

I think this is HILARIOUS! I was laughing out loud when I found out his celebrity look-a-likes on this website. I just HAD to include Queen Latifah because that one made me laugh the hardest. He's not even a girl!!! And Latifah wasn't the only woman this site said he looked like either. But I only posted her because that rocks. And Michael Jackson?? I mean...Ryder is as white as they come. Well okay I'M as white as they come but he pulls a close second. There were actually 3 black people that came up. Too funny.

Rainforest Jumperoo

Say hello to Fisher-Price's Rainforest Jumperoo. I love this thing. Ryder jumps up and down in it and it is hilarious!! He gets all excited and goes crazy. It has so many things on it as you can see. So Ryder has gotten kinda (really) spoiled lately and he won't play in his jumperoo for more than like...15 minutes right now. He just starts fussing and then I walk in the room and he wants me to hold him. Stinker! We also bought him 2 baby einstein videos and he doesn't seem to want to watch it on repeat. HA! I feel bad but my house has been neglected for like 4 days straight so Ryder is not getting my full attention and I need him to play alone so I can get things done but it just isn't happening like I want it to. I'm hoping he will learn to love his Jumperoo like I do so that I can become a better cleaner and maybe do some more blogging or crafts or continue reading my novel or something!!!! I don't know what happened but I used to be able to leave him alone in his swing for almost an hour and he'd be fine. But now...he just wants to be with me all the time. It's kinda cute but not really. I need to be able to have alone time and be Lara instead of just mommy 24/7. Any suggestions people??? I need help. This jumperoo wasn't exactly cheap and I can't keep spending money in hopes that he will be able to play on his own. What I wanna know is how much alone time is too much? Some days I feel like I spend too much time giving him attention and then other days I wish I gave him more attention. I'm sure every mom goes through this. If you all figured it out I know I can.

My lil Ryder bug

Look at how much he has changed!














Sara was having withdrawals since I hadn't posted in over a week. So since nothing has really happened I decided to post about Ryder because I just love to. I wanted to list the things I love about him so that on the days he drives me insano I can read this and remember his awesomeness. I can't believe how completely different he looks after 3 months! He is now my michelin man baby.

- I love how he looks like Jon (so handsome)
- I love to watch him learn new things
- I love how when he is hungry he kicks and squirms and fights and then the second the bottle enters his mouth his eyes roll back and it's total relaxation mode
- I love that he relies on me for nourishment and I love to give it to him
- I love how when I feed him he is constantly grabbing at his bottle or my hand or just holding onto my arm
- I love how he looks when he wakes up
- I love his gummy smile and how he has my dimples
- I love how he is sitting on my lap right now and workin overtime to get a poopie out
- I love how he can be so good. I took him out in the blazin heat for 2 1/2 hours yesterday while I ran around town and he was so easygoing even when he was hungry
- I love how he grabs his toes when I change his diaper
- I love when he can't take his eyes off me or Jon
- I love how when he yawns he lets out a big sigh
- I love when I can make him laugh
- I love his cottage cheese booty
- I love his man burps
- I love how his hair is growing in so blonde
- I love how he lets me get more sleep these days
- I love HIM

One year older and wiser too...well maybe not wiser.

So I had an awesome 23rd birthday! On Thursday night my parents took me, Jon, and Ryder to a nice Italian restaurant called Caruso's. It was so tasty. After that we went to look at cars (we're considering trading my gas hog) and even though it was past Ryder's bedtime he was such a good boy and was so quiet and just enjoyed being outside. Then yesterday, my actual birthday, Jon met Ryder and me for breakfast at Giant Hamburgers. If you have not had breakfast there before you HAVE to try it. It is amazing. I got a ham and cheese omelet and it was the best thing I've ever had. It's amazing that something so simple can taste so good. So Jon came home from work early, which I LOVE and the three of us took a little family nap together in our big bed. It was fun. Ryder only slept for 30 minutes but I needed that 30 minutes of rest. Then Jon got up, went to get our truck washed, and when he came home he had red roses and two gift cards for me. One was to Golden Spoon, which I love. I don't really care for ice cream but frozen yogurt...oh man it's my favorite. The other was a Mastercard that I can use anywhere. I am so excited to go use it :) Jon was so sweet. He had been trying to find me a dress that I wanted off the internet but they never have my size in stock. So he went to several stores trying to find a similar or equally nice one and had no luck. That's when he resorted to the gift card. But I have no problem with gift cards. I'd rather have that than get something I don't really like. Anyways, he got his cousin Emily to babysit (which she did for FREE) and he took me to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Can I just say it was way out of our budget but it was the best steak I have ever had in my life. It cut like butter. After dinner we went to The District in Tempe. It's an awesome outdoor mall. We got a couple sushi rolls that were to die for and then headed home. It was the best date I've had in a while. So unfortunately last night wasn't so good for me. I could NOT sleep and I don't know why. I only got 5 hours sleep and was RUDELY awakened by some dumb teenagers across the street playing drums in their garage with the door open. We have had to talk to them about it before but I was not about to be nice. They woke Ryder up so I went out there and yelled at them. Something I have never done in my life. But come on, it was 7:45am on a Saturday. Ridiculous!!! A while later I called my bro-in-law who is a cop to ask him if there's anything to be done about it. He said quiet hours are from 10pm - 6am. Since it was past 6am unfortunately they have their right. Now i feel bad. But not enough to go apologize just yet. So I'm one year older and not so much wiser.

New 'do for a new mom

So...I decided to try something new with my hair. I've been blonde my entire life with the exception of putting brown streaks in my hair senior year of high school and then having one of my old hairdressers totally screw up my hair and turn it into a super dark hue that was just...all wrong for me. It was bad and I had to go back a couple days later to fix it only to screw it up worse. So from that point on I've just stayed blonde because it is safe. But since Jon and I got married he has expressed to me on several occasions that he would love for me to have darker hair. I thought..."Uh...hello you married a blonde silly. If you didn't like it you should've gotten out a long time ago." But then I realized I was ready for a change too. So here it is. My new 'do and hue.



When Ryder first saw me after gettin my hair did he just kinda stared at me for a minute as if he was thinking, "You look kinda like my mom but I'm not sure." But then I talked to him and smiled and he smiled back. It was a little shocking at first for me, but I'm liking it more and more. I'm about 99.9% sure my parents hate it but Jon loves it. I love having bangs. I cut my bangs just like this when I was pregnant and then they grew out so fast and I missed them. So now they are back...with a bang. HA! Get it? anyways, I think I'll keep this style for a while and let everyone get used to me having darker hair. I know it will take a while since I've never done anything this dramatic - well on purpose that is. Oh and I just wanted to add, don't pay attention to my facial expression. I kinda look unhappy or disgusted I can't decide. But really I just feel stupid taking mugshots of myself and don't ever know what face to make. I guess I could've smiled???

Coo Coo and Choo Choo - Ryder's first friend

Sorry Jessica, I HAD to steal these pictures from your blog. They are just too funny and I didn't take any with our camera - dang it! So Thursday night last week Richard, Jessica, and McKenna Hale came over for dinner so we could see each other's babies. I bet everyone is thinking Ryder is older but guess what? McKenna is a month older and weighs about 4 pounds less than my big Ry. They looked so cute together and you're right Jess, they have matching double chins. HA! Unfortunately Ryder was suuuper cranky that night because he woke up too early from his afternoon nap and was still tired - but wouldn't go back to sleep. That's why he is crying in the last picture. It's not because McKenna was beating him up. Although I think she could take him cuz she is a feisty lil' one and kept trying to eat his shirt while he just sat there like a couch potato. HAHA! Another thing that I thought was funny was that they nicknamed McKenna "Coo Coo" and we actually nicknamed Ryder "Choo Choo." So here you have it. The first time Coo Coo and Choo Choo met.